When the Cincinnati Bengals took on the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8, they were expected to win, albeit by a narrow margin since they were the home team. However, those who bet on the Bengals ended up disappointed as the Eagles, led by Jalen Hurts—sporting mismatched shoes—delivered their most complete win of the season. Meanwhile, Saquon Barkley dominated the game with his powerful runs, controlling the clock and outpacing the Bengals.
After the game, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow spoke to reporters about the team’s offensive struggles, particularly on the ground, as Barkley nearly matched Cincinnati’s rushing yards by himself. “Their front is strong, and when you can’t run effectively, it lets their pass rushers go all out,” Burrow explained. “We knew coming in their front would be tough, and that we’d need to put up points, but we didn’t do enough today.”
Both Hurts and Barkley outperformed Cincinnati’s lead rusher, Chase Brown, making Burrow’s remarks on the ground game especially relevant. He acknowledged recent challenges, noting a slight improvement early in the season when Brown and Zack Moss found a rhythm together. However, Moss has struggled recently, averaging under three yards per carry over the last four games, which has allowed opponents to better counter Zac Taylor’s offensive strategy.
Burrow elaborated, “We ran well after the first game, but the last few weeks have been rough. Facing strong rushers, you need to keep them off balance with a solid run game. Without it, their edge rushers get more aggressive, and play action loses its impact. That forces us to drop back and try to make plays, which is exactly what these defenses want.”
As Bengals fans saw in Week 8, the Eagles under coach Nick Sirianni have built an offense focused on controlling possession with the run while capitalizing on deep shots to their top-tier receivers. This balanced approach allowed the Eagles to close out the game with two receivers over 80 yards and a 100-yard rusher—a feat the Bengals haven’t matched since Joe Mixon was with the team.
